It's been more than two weeks since he underwent surgery to repair a broken clavicle. In two weeks, the Chargers open their season against the Raiders.​

​

Mathews wants to be on the field Week 1.​

​

On Monday, he'll learn how close he is.​

​

The Chargers running back is scheduled for a post-op evaluation, a key checkpoint in tracking his shoulder's response to treatment and rehabilitation efforts. The third-year veteran hasn't lost sight of a Week 1 return, although the expectation is he will miss at least a game or two.​

​

In what Mathews termed a "good rehab," he is working closely with James Collins, the Chargers' head athletic trainer.​

​

The 2010 first-round pick acknowledged "there is a chance" he won't be ready by the season opener.​

​

"But James tells me every day to slow down with everything I'm doing," Mathews added. "I come in, and I'm doing this and I'm doing that. He's like, 'Man, just slow down. Slow down.' It's hard. I've been like I caged lion. You just want to go out there.​

​

"I'm going to see how it's going tomorrow and really see where to go from there."​

​

Mathews had surgery Aug. 10, and the team provided a four-to-six recovery timetable.​

​

He's kept active since, starting leg workouts just days removed from surgery and walking without use of a sling.​

​

Two days after surgery, he raised his right shoulder a few inches in the air to display its mobility.​

​

The shoulder feels "a lot more mobile" now, Mathews said Sunday. "It feels normal. Just the muscles in there are tight. I haven't really used them, so that's going to be the next thing, breaking all that scar tissue down."​

​

The team likes Mathews' mindset of targeting a Week 1 return.​

​

That said, with every week he rests, the risk of a potential setback declines.​

While Mathews may be fully capable of playing at a high level by the season opener, the risk/reward factor is what ultimately may keep Mathews in his cage.​

​

If only Mathews was a banker or architect.​

​

Coming back by Sept. 10 wouldn't be an issue.​

​

"For a desk job, I'd be good to go right now," Mathews said. "But it is a contact sport, and I'm going to be taking hits on that side, so they just want to make sure that everything is good. ... I'll just be patient. My goal is still to play in that first game. I'm just going to take it day by day and keep going."​

Pro football players go their whole lives demonstrating how they're physically superior to others. It's not really a surprise that he expects this to translate to his recovery time, even if that's not likely to be the case.